Set your TiVos for “The Next Food Network Star” and watch Bluffton’s own Orchid bloom in the kitchen.

You know you’ve made it when you have “people,” and Orchid Paulmeier has people.

“This is still pretty new to me,” Paulmeier said with her trademark laughter while sharing contact information for her people, a PR firm representing The Food Network.

The “people” come as part and parcel of Paulmeier’s newfound fame as one of the finalists on The Food Network show “The Next Food Network Star.” Out of thousands of hopefuls, the owner of One Hot Mama’s, who got her start right here in Bluffton, was chosen as one of the show’s finalists based on an audition tape that showcased two of her finest traits: her love of cooking and her sparkling personality.

“You’re going down, burger,” she quipped to a freshly-grilled hamburger in her audition tape before taking a bite and declaring “that’s the good stuff right there.”

It’s that personality that, rest assured, is going to win our local celebrity Orchid Paulmeier her own show.

“My strategy for separating myself from the rest of the contestants is to be myself,” she said (through her people, of course). “I am a character already and quite a handful, no need to try and be something I am not. I think that my story of my heritage, upbringing, present family, how I started my business, and all of the colorful people that surround me, might be enough for its own TV show.”

Paulmeier’s road to television stardom started two years ago when she auditioned for the fifth season of the show. After making it to the second round, Paulmeier was frustrated to not get a callback after auditioning for the sixth season. Undeterred, she decided that for the seventh season, quote, “it was on.”

“We drove to Atlanta, made a fun family weekend out of it and just went for it,” she said. “I got my call back and the callbacks kept going until the final interview in New York. It was so exciting and very hard to keep quiet from everyone. Somehow I did it, and here I am spilling the beans now.”

With the beans properly spilled (then no doubt served alongside some mouth-watering barbecue), Paulmeier can dish about meeting all of her favorite Food Network celebrities.

“… You know they are what you aspire to be, and you never want to disappoint them. It was always nerve wracking going in front of the judges on evaluation days, but you know they have the best advice to give,” she said. “I have to admit though, the first time I met any of them, I was definitely star struck. It is so surreal actually meeting them, especially cooking for them.”

The show, which has launched such culinary superstars as Guy Fieri, offers contestants the chance to prove their mettle in the kitchen and on camera for a chance at their own show (if she wins, Paulmeier plans on calling her show either Breaking Down the Basics or Mama Orchid). It’s not enough to just have a culinary flair; the winner also needs to have the personality to carry their own show. Anyone who’s met Orchid knows that she’s got both in spades.

Business partner Steve Carb knows the strength of Paulmeier’s engaging personality like few others. He cites it as one of the reasons they first partnered up.

“I was sold on her and on One Hot Mamas,” he said. “I’m excited for her, for the opportunity. It’s always been a goal and a passion for her and she loves getting out in the public.”

She’s got plenty of fans in Bluffton who remember One Hot Mama’s Bluffton origins (the restaurant and nightspot formerly operated out of Sheridan Park before moving to Hilton Head Island) and who should have good reason for rooting Paulmeier along: The possibility that she might branch out.

“There are definitely still plans to open up more OHM locations,” she said. “My goal with Mama’s since day one was to open 10 by the time I am 40. OK, that clock is ticking, but hey, this just might be the vehicle that gets me there.”

So we’re not saying a win for Paulmeier will automatically lead to Bluffton getting One Hot Mama’s back, but if that turns out to be the case, a win for her is a win for us all.

But until then, you can watch Bluffton’s own Orchid Paulmeier’s meteoric rise to stardom on “The Next Food Network Star” starting at 9 p.m. June 5.

The June 5 premiere of “The Next Food Network Star” gets the show’s seventh season rolling.

The premise of the show involves chefs competing in a series of culinary challenges for a shot at a six-episode show on The Food Network. Before they can claim their fame, they must get past the judges: Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis and Food Network executives Bob Tuschman and Susie Fogelson.

According to The Food Network, this season’s challenges will include creating and advertising a unique food truck under the watchful eye of Tyler Florence, adding fireworks to a meal with MGD 64 beer for an all-American Fourth of July food festival hosted by Guy Fieri, throwing an impromptu dinner party for Wolfgang Puck, having their menus “roasted” by some legendary comedic faces, using Kellogg’s cereals, toaster pastries, and snacks to create an impressive appetizer and competing head-to-head Iron Chef America-style in Kitchen Stadium.

The finalists also visit the set of ABC’s hit series Cougar Town and create custom meals for cast and crew with special guest stars, Courteney Cox and show creator Bill Lawrence. This star-studded season also features the industry’s biggest stars and culinary authority such as: Alton Brown, Anne Burrell, Scott Conant, Melissa D’Arabian, Paula Deen, Ina Garten, Duff Goldman, Robert Irvine, Patrick and Gina Neely, Rachael Ray and Michael Symon.

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